Braking device for a cigarette making machine



Feb. 11, 1958 H. KUNATH I 2,822,953

BRAKING DEVICE FOR A CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINE Filed May s, 1955 2 Shegts-Sheet 1 IIIIIIIIII M H. KUNATH Feb. 11, 1958 BRAKING DEVICE FOR A CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 3, 1955 INVENTOR. Jfez' z jzufnaziz J -m I gm? m y a W v 6 F tainer of a cigarette orienting'machine. relates more particularly to a cigarette orienting machine in which cigarettes which are oval or elliptical in cross- United States Patent BRAKING DEVICE FOR A CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINE Heinz Kunath, Hamburg, Germany, assignor to Kurt Kiirber & Co. K. G., Hambnrg-Bergedorf, Germany Application May 3, 1955, Serial No. 505,816

2 Claims. (Cl. 221-93) upon cigarettes .which are discharged from a storage con- 1:

The invention section are to be transferred to a conveyor chain in which the individual links are provided with transverse grooves 33 for receiving the cigarettes, This conveyor chain is preferably arranged in a plane below the lower discharge end of the storage container.

It is an object'of the" present invention to assure that the cigarettes which are discharged from the storage container are transferred to' the conveyor without any loss of tobaccoj I Until now, it was customary to simply let the cigarettes drop into the groove provided in the conveyor chain, v

without providing any means for braking or decelerating the same. When the conveyor 'chaiii'operates' with a relatively slow speed, this type of operation is possible without difficulty, and no disturbances will occur because the cigarettes have sufiicient time to change their direction and drop downwardly.

However, when the machine, particularly of the conveyor chain, operates at high speed, the time during which the cigarettes drop into the grooves of the conveyor chain is very short with the result that the cigarettes drop onto the conveyor in a very irregular manner and may even be placed in a slanting position on top of the edges of the grooves. If this takes place, it is impossible during the following scanning of the cigarettes, for instance by means of light electric cells, to orient the brand name of the cigarettes at the correct position, said position being determined by the impulse necessary to turn the cigarettes into the correct position.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a machine of the character described, with a device which may be considered a yielding machine element against which cigarettes are pushed, said machine element being positioned above the conveyor chain.

The mentioned yielding machine element, according to another object of the present invention, may be constructed in the form of a soft felt disc which is attached to a frame, and if necessary may be rotatably moved away from its operating plane.

Still another object of the invention is to employ, in place of the felt disc, resilient leaf springs which are mounted with one of their ends to a common plate, said plate, if necessary being pivotally movable away from its operative position.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an angular plunger bar which by means of a gearing may perform reciprocating movement to move the cigarettes discharged from the storage container positively into the grooves of the conveyor chain.

With these and other objects in mind, the invention will now be described with reference to the accompany- 2,822,953 Patented Feb. 11, 1958 ice 2 ing drawings, which disclose various embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 1 illustrates a side elevation view of an ejecting device having associated therewith a conveyor chain with transversecigarette receiving grooves and a felt disc.

Fig. 2 illustrates a top plan view of the ejector device shown in Fig. l, and shows that the cigarettes have been ejected until they engage the yieldable machine element.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the cigarettes oriented in the grooves of the conveyor chain.

Fig. 4 illustrates in side elevation view a modified construction of the device of the invention, and

Fig. 5 shows still another modification of the device of the invention in which the cigarettes are positively guided downwardly onto the conveyor chain.

Referring to the drawings, the cigarettes 1, which are oval or elliptical in cross section, are fed from the storage magazine 2 into a hopper 3, which according to Fig. 2, is divided into a plurality of vertically arranged conduits. A rotatable cam 4, which is fixedly attached to a drive shaft 4a, actuates a link 4b whose lower end is rotatably mounted to a bearing 40 on the machine frame, while the upper end of the link 4b is connected by means of a short arm 4d to a horizontally guiding ejector 5.

.The free ends of this ejector 5, which consists of a plurality of horizontally arranged rods or the like, are adapted to push the cigarettes from the conduits into grooves 6 arrangedin the upper surface of a plate 6a. The cigarettes are pushed outwardly of the vertical con- 6 is arranged, a resilient spring 7 which engages the cigarettes when they are ejected from the vertical conduits.

The yieldable machine element, according to' Fig. 1, consists of a soft felt disc 8 secured to a metal frame 8 rotatable about an axis 9 so that the felt disc 8 may be rotated away from its operative position.

Below the felt disc 8, there is arranged a conveyor chain 10 provided with transverse grooves 11 for receiving the cigarettese. The conveyor chain 10 is supported by a pair of spaced parallel and substantially horizontally arranged rails 12. The conveyor chain is driven by means of a sprocket wheel 13, fixedly attached to a driven shaft 14.

Fig. 2 illustrates that the cigarettes 1 are moved until they engage the felt disc 8, and subsequently, as shown in Fig. 3, the cigarettes in an inclined position are transferred downwardly onto the conveyor chain 11 so that the cigarettes engage a rail 15 along which the cigarettes move.

In place of the felt disc 8, there may be used, as shown in Fig. 4, a plurality of leaf springs 16 which correspond in number to the number of the cigarettes ejected from the vertical conduits. The leaf springs 16 are attached at one end to a disc 17 which is also rotatable about the axis 9 in order to move the springs away from their operative position. The operation of the embodiment, as shown in Fig. 4 is the same as that of the device illustrated in connection with the felt disc 8 in Figs. 1 and 2. The leaf springs 16 may be attached to their supporting disc 17 in an adjustable manner so that the braking power of the springs may be adjusted.

Fig. 5 illustrates an embodiment of the device of the invention in which the cigarettes are positively transferred into the grooves of the conveyor chain 10. Cigarettes 1 are moved into engagement with a vertical end face 18 and a horizontal end face 23 of an angle bar extending transversely of the free end of a plunger 19, which latter is mounted to perform not only a reciprocating movement in a horizontal plane but also a reciprocating movement in a verticalplane. For this purpose, the

u 3 plunger 19 is slidably mounted in a sleeve 20 which in turn is reciprocated vertically by a cam 21. Another cam 22 controls the horizontal reciprocating movement of the plunger 19. e

During operation of this embodiment of the device,"the cigarettes 1 are pushed by the ejector 5 outwardly of the lower portion of the hopper 3 and theagrooves 6 to engage the vertical end wall-18 of the plunger 19, said plunger moving outwardly by action of the cam 22 to decelerate the cigarettes. Simultaneously, the plunger 19 with its horizontal end face 23 ismoved downwardly by the action of the cam 21 whichhas the effect of -transferring the cigarettes in a horizontal position "down a slope from the plate 6a into a secure position inthe grooves 11 of the conveyor chain'10.

What I claim is:

1. In a cigarette machine, a storage container for cigarettes, a substantially'horizontal bottom in said container, a plurality of parallel grooves in said bottom each adapted to receiveta cigarette therein, a side wall in said container substantially perpendicular to said grooves and having its lower end at a distance-abovesaid bottom so as to leave an opening between the bottom and said side wall, an extension of said-grooved bottom outside said side-wall opening, conveyormeans- -a'djacent the outer edge of said extension and-at-a lower level than the same and adapted to move transversely of said grooves, elongated recesses in said conveyortransverse to the direction of movement thereof and each-adapted to receive a cigarette, ejector means associated with" said containerand adapted to eject cigarettes therefrom'in said grooves throughsaid opening, and a soft felt idisc supportedronlyalong its upper edge above said conveyor means in the path of movement of said ejected cigarettes wherebysaid ejected cigarettes are retarded in their movement and defiected downwards towards said conveyor means by said so'ft felt'disc.

2. In ,a cigarette machine, a storage.containerforscigr arettes, a substantially horizontal bottom in said container, a plurality of parallel grooves in said bottom each adapted to receive a cigarette therein, a side wall in said container substantially perpendicular to said grooves and having its lower end at a distance above said bottom so as to leave an opening'between the bottom and said side wall, .anrextension of .saidgrooved bottom outside said side wall opening, conveyor means adjacent the outer edge of said extension and at a lower level 'than'the same and adapted to move transversely ofsaid grooves, elongated recesses in said conveyor transverse to the direction of movement thereof andeach-adapted to receive a cigarette, ejector means associated with said container and adapted to eject'cig'arettes' therefrom in said grooves through said opening, yieldable means supported above said conveyor means in the path of movement of said ejected cigarettes, and vertically reciprocable drive means connected with said yieldable means 'and' adapted to move said yieldable means towards and away from said conveyor means whereby said ejected cigarettes'areretarded in their movement and deflecteddownwards'towards'said conveyor means by:said yieldable means.

References Cited in :the file :of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 412,591 Bin'gham 'Oct. 8, .1889 1,247,664 Giles Nov.. 27, 1917 1,615,626 Jagenberg Jan. 25, 1927 1,834,723 Neff --Dec. 1,.1931 1,926,848 Giles "Sept. 12,,1933 1,985,765 Cornock .Dec. '25, 1934 2,135,778 -Wyland Nov. 8, 1938 2,525,765 Betge Qct.f17, 1950 2,575,220 Hiller Nov.13,' 1951 

